When drilling a wellbore in the earth, solid particles such as rock cuttings formed by the drilling bit action are recovered at the drilling rig and have to be disposed of in an acceptable manner. The disposal of drilling cuttings from offshore wells which are located in a body of water is particularly important because of the hauling distances involved if the cuttings cannot be disposed of in the water surrounding the offshore drilling rig.
If the drilling cuttings recovered at the working floor of the drilling rig are contaminated with one or more hydrocarbonaceous oils for any number of reasons, for example, an oil based drilling mud was used in the drilling operation or oil was employed in a water-based drilling mud to improve lubricity of the drillstring and bit in the wellbore, or the like, the cuttings disposal problem is sensitive from an environmental point of view as well as other obvious points of view.